These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Neighbourhood police centre, S'pore's first smart fire station launched in Punggol
The familiar Red Rhino, fire engines and ambulances are on-site. But smart classrooms and an automated medical store also feature in Singapore's first smart fire station that officially opened in Punggol on Friday (Feb 25).
Sharing space with a new neighbourhood police centre (NPC), the facility will serve as a test bed for many features and technologies for use in other stations here.
The Punggol NPC and Punggol Fire Station are part of a vision for an integrated Home Team, pooling together resources from both forces for better efficiency and coordination, said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, was speaking at the station's opening ceremony on Friday morning.
At the heart of the station is a seven-storey tower, where firefighters can train for various scenarios on each of its floors, which are modelled after commercial buildings, ship decks and other locations.
For instance, firefighters can train for high-rise operations using the mock-ups of a typical corridor and air-conditioning ledge that are based on designs of Housing Board Build-to-Order flats.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement: "These common residential amenities can present challenges to the SCDF's emergency responders during the dynamic high-rise firefighting and rescue operations.
"These offer the firefighters a range of scenarios beyond the day-to-day incidents that they typically respond to and allows them to hone and sharpen their repertoire of skill sets." – Straits Times
32,070 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, highest daily record
Malaysia's daily Covid-19 cases continue to rise with 32,070 recorded yesterday, the highest since the pandemic began in 2020.
This is the second consecutive day the country reported more than 30,000 daily infections.
Data on the Health Ministry's CovidNow showed that of the new cases, 31,861 were local transmissions while 209 were imported cases.
Active cases now stood at 286,521. Yesterday, 23,332 Covid-19 patients recovered, pushing the toll 3,018,172.
Currently, 95.6 per cent of Covid-19 cases in the country are undergoing home quarantine, 2.8 per cent treated at hospitals, 1.5 per cent at Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres and 327 at intensive care units where 201 are ventilated.
At the same time, the coronavirus claimed 46 lives yesterday, including 17 brought-in-dead cases. – New Straits Times
Record 24,932 new Covid cases, 41 more deaths
The country registered 41 more Covid-19 fatalities and a record high of 24,932 new cases during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Friday morning.
This compared with the 38 coronavirus-related fatalities and 23,557 new cases reported on Thursday morning.
There were 24,765 local cases and 167 imported ones.
The figures did not include 22,509 positive results from antigen tests over the past 24 hours.
On Thursday, 15,774 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus.
Since the pandemic started in early 2020, there have been 2,819,282 Covid-19 cases, including 595,847 cases this year, with 2,606,363 complete recoveries to date.
The accumulated death toll stood at 22,809 since the beginning of the pandemic, including 1,111 so far this year. – Bangkok Post
Settle dispute peacefully, PH tells parties in Ukraine crisis
The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), on Friday called on the international community to reaffirm its commitment to settling disputes through peaceful means.
The statement came as Ukraine continues to counter Russia's attack that began on Thursday, with fierce battles reportedly taking place close to the capital Kyiv.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing preliminary data, said at least 137 people – soldiers and civilians – were killed on the first day of attacks by Russian troops.
“According to our information, the enemy has identified me as the number one target. My family is the number two target.
“They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state,” he added.
"The Philippines calls on the international community to reaffirm by more than words its commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes. We recall the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes which provides the legal framework for recourse to diplomacy, dialogue, and rule of law," the DFA said.
"In the present crisis, where the situation is not irreversible and there is no compelling reason for any of the protagonists to resort to hostile actions, turning to the Manila Declaration is the pragmatic and decent way to go," it added.
It urged all parties to exert every effort to stick to diplomatic and peaceful means to maintain international peace and security and avert a humanitarian crisis.
The Manila Declaration is a landmark instrument on the peaceful settlement of international disputes and reaffirms that all States shall refrain from threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.
It also reiterates that no State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly in the internal affairs of any other States. – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam calls for restraint in Ukraine-Russia conflict, ready to conduct citizen protection
Viet Nam on Friday said it is seriously concerned with the armed conflict situation in Ukraine and called for restraint on the part of all sides.
Asked about the latest developments in Ukraine as Russia launched special military operations against the country, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang on Friday urged “all relevant parties to exercise restraint, abide by the United Nations Charter and basic principles of international law, refrain from using force, protect the people, continue with dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution, contributing to the maintenance of peace, security, stability, and cooperation in the region and the world.”
The spokesperson said Viet Nam is paying special attention to the Vietnamese community in Ukraine, asking for the protection of life, safety, assets, legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens and businesses here.
“All Vietnamese representative missions in Ukraine along with local authorities are closely coordinating, and ready to conduct citizen protection efforts,” Hang said.
The Vietnamese ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach said on Facebook Friday morning that the embassy staff had already evacuated to an underground bunker, as reports of Russian forces already nearing the Ukraine capital Kiev with loud explosions suspected to be caused by rockets heard.
Thach urged Vietnamese citizens here to shelter in place and said travel for evacuation right now is unsafe. – Vietnam News
Daily Omicron cases remain high as Cambodia nears 9,000 New Variant case total
Cambodia today recorded the 21st consecutive day of the new triple digit ‘Omicron Surge’ as daily case numbers continue to remain high
Today’s official daily new COVID case total (diagnosed by PCR test) was 479 – all the Omicron variant – bringing the COVID case total to 129,078 cases.
For the 5th day – and after a gap of 6 weeks – Cambodia recorded deaths from COVID, with 1 new death reported bringing the total to 3027
The Kingdom recorded 453 new community and 26 new imported cases of the new variant.
Cambodia has now recorded 8637 cases of Omicron – 802 imported and 7835 community cases.
There are now 3664 active COVID cases (diagnosed by PCR test) in The Kingdom – and the number of active cases is rapidly growing.
The worrying news for Cambodia is that community cases seem to be quickly escalating – especially in Phnom Penh.
It is reported that more than 500 students in Phnom Penh are infected with the virus and that 11 schools have been shut because of the rapid spread of Omicron – Khmer Times
Telenor sale gets green light from Myanmar junta’s telecoms regulator
The Myanmar military gave regulatory approval to the sale of Norwegian telecom giant Telenor Group’s Myanmar operation to Lebanon’s M1 Group on Thursday after months of stalling the process, according to a company spokesperson.
Telenor announced the sale of its Myanmar subsidiary to M1 Group in early July last year following the deteriorating situation in the wake of the military coup in February. M1 Group has been criticised for working with despotic regimes worldwide.
The Myanmar military initially blocked the sale when M1 was the sole buyer, but the Lebanese company agreed to transfer a controlling stake in the venture to a Myanmar firm called Shwe Byain Phyu, which has strong ties to the military.
Telenor spokesperson Cathrine Stang Lund told Myanmar Now on Thursday that the company “has received and is currently assessing” a letter from the Post and Telecommunications Department (PTD) under the junta’s Ministry of Transport and Communications regarding the regulatory approval process.
“It is important to note that a PTD approval is only one step in the total approval process and we are still awaiting final regulatory approval for the transaction between Telenor and M1 Group,” she said. – Myanmar NOW
Ministry confirms 138 Indonesian citizens in Ukraine are safe
The Foreign Affairs Ministry's Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities Judha Nugraha notified that as many as 138 Indonesian citizens in Ukraine were safe.
"According to our communication with the Indonesian citizens in Ukraine, currently, they are safe. Please, stay calm and alert, while staying contact with the Embassy of Indonesia in Kyiv," Nugraha remarked at a press briefing here on Thursday.
He also urged Indonesian citizens to contact the embassy immediately if they found themselves in a difficult situation.
Most of the 138 Indonesian citizens, comprising migrant workers, students, and spouses of the local people, reside in Kyiv, while the rest of them live in several other regions across Ukraine, the director noted.
"Some 11 Indonesian citizens live in the eastern region of Ukraine, including in Donetsk and Luhansk," he revealed.
Nugraha stated that currently, his side was preparing a contingency plan through intensive coordination with the embassy as a precautionary measure against further conflict escalation between Ukraine and Russia.
"First, we have to ensure that the location of our citizens is safe and follows the latest developments with regard to the conflict. Then, we will evaluate the situation to decide on the plan," he remarked.
Currently, the ministry has urged the Indonesian citizens to gather at the Embassy of Indonesia in Kyiv. – AntaraNews.Com